Delhi HC orders restoration of CJP's X account after Centre withdraws objection

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed that the X account of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) be restored after the Central government informed the court that it had no objection to unblocking it now that the NEET examination is over. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma passed the order after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said the account had been blocked only in view of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). "It was blocked at a time when the NEET examination was to take place. Lakhs of students were to appear. Several posts (on X) would have created chaos among students and parents. Now the examination is over," Mehta told the court. Justice Sharma then directed that the account be restored. "I have no difficulty. I just want everyone to be more circumspect," the Solicitor General added. The court accordingly allowed the petition filed by CJP founder Abhijit Dipke, represented by advocate Nakul Gandhi of NG Law Chambers. Dipke had challenged the Centre's blocking order, which cited national security concerns. According to an earlier report by The Indian Express, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had directed X to withhold the account under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, after receiving Intelligence Bureau inputs flagging national security concerns. At the previous hearing on May 29, the High Court had declined to order immediate restoration of the account, saying the government must first be heard because the matter had far-reaching implications. The court had also indicated it would examine whether X could be directed to place the blocking order on record after the Centre filed its response. On Tuesday, however, the Union government said it had no objection to unblocking the account, leading to the court's order. What is Cockroach Janta Party? The Cockroach Janta Party emerged as a satirical online movement after Supreme Court proceedings on May 15, during which Chief Justice of India Surya Kant remarked that some unemployed young lawyers were turning to social media and RTI activism, describing them as "youngsters like cockroaches". The Chief Justice later clarified that his remarks were aimed at individuals entering professions using forged qualifications and fake degrees, and not unemployed youth in general. Founded by Boston-based Abhijit Dipke, the collective uses political satire to comment on issues such as unemployment, institutional accountability and media freedom. It has built a large social media following and currently holding protests at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, demanding the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged NEET and other examination paper leaks.